The Reborn Dread Masters
"After the fall of the original Masters, the Warlord desired an army to maintain the Masters' legacy of fear and darkness and sorcery. Thus the Second Dread Masters rose under his leadership, a growing legion which would survive for the purpose of striking terror into the galaxy." : ―Kataret's writings The Reborn Dread Masters was a small legion of sith forces that had separated from the Sith Empire in order to serve under the leadership of the Warlord and the new Dread Masters. The Warlord created this legion after the defeat of the original Dread Masters, six powerful sith sorcerers who held the ability to kill their enemies through the unique power of casting horrors into others' minds. The Second Dread Masters were to continue the legacy of the original six and to show the galaxy fear once again. The Warlord was originally thought to be Zuhara by those who knew of the Reborn Dread Masters. However, recent evidence proves that they were separate people with similar traits. The Founding The Warlord and her Death Stalkers "It is my honor and mine alone to meet the Dread Masters!" -The Warlord Before the Dread War and the galaxy's later conflicts, the Sith Empire discovered the Republic's hidden prison world, Belsavis. Belsavis remained somewhat a mystery to the Empire, until they send recon to confirm the world's purpose as a prison planet. To this fact, the Empire launched fleets and war forces to land and secure an outpost on the planet, hoping the planet could be of use to them. After landing it was discovered that many Sith and Imperial legends--including the powerful six Dread Masters--were located deep within the planet's prison and tombs. The Empire immediately began to send forces all over the planet for the purpose of freeing their imprisoned allies and strengthening their hold on the planet. Eventually, a man known as Commander Calum of the Imperial Guard was send to the world as an operations director and to oversee the activities on the planet. Later, being contacted by the Sith Emperor, Calum was tasked with the immediate discovery and recovery of the six Sith prophet: The Dread Masters. At the time several Imperial specialists were located planet side. Calum quickly assembled dozens of these specialists and separated them into six individual operation groups whose mission was to find and rescue the incarcerated Masters. However, following the assembly of these Operation groups, many of Belsavis' vaults were opened across the planet, releasing criminals, ancient creatures, and beasts. These problems would eventually become a major obstacle for the Operation Groups and destroy them. With the decimation of the Operation Groups, Commander Calum reached out to the Empire's Fury--an elite team of Imperial heroes--to free the Dread Masters instead. Though the commander feared this four man strike team would not be enough, additionally enlisting the help of a legendary Sith team known as the Death Stalkers. The Death Stalkers and their leader, the Warlord arrived in the orbit of Belsavis in their flagship several days after the Empire's Fury had landed themselves on the planet. Though, Calum ordered them to remain in their flagship instead of landing on the surface. Nevertheless, the Warlord discovered the presence of the Empire's Fury and their mission to release the Dread Masters. She enraged at this fact, believing that it should be her honor to free and meet the six Sith prophets. Tension quickly grew as the Warlord threated to assault the Empire's fleet over Belsavis and then release the Death Stalkers on the remnants. Calum and several Imperial officials responded to the threat, negotiating with the Warlord to protect their operations on Belsavis. Ultimately, it was determined that while the Empire's Fury would release the Dread Masters, the Warlord would be the one to shuttle the Masters out of the system on her flagship. After the release of the Masters they were welcomes aboard the flagship, the Eradicator, as honored guests. Though, whatever meeting transpired on the ship between the Death Stalkers and the Masters is much of a mystery. Yet, it is believed that the Dread Masters became affiliated with the Warlord, introducing them to the unique powers and Dread, manipulation, and the Force. The Warlord then brought the Dread Masters to their desired destination of a remote moon known as Oricon for unknown reasons. Afterwards, a strange coincidence happened, as both the Dread Masters and the Warlord's Death Stalkers disappeared from the known galaxy, never to be seen again. The Dread Masters across the Galaxy While the Death Stalkers' remaining history remained a mystery, the Dread Masters did reappear to the galaxy several time in odd places and planets. In their return to the galaxy on the rich planet of Denova, it was revealed that the Dread Masters has declared themselves an independent faction, now opposing both the Republic and Empire. On Denova the Masters had corrupted a large group of hired Trandoshan mercenaries along with a number of Imperials led by on the planet. The forces and their leader Kephess were eventually defeated and the Masters lost control of the world. This proved that the Masters were capable of turning people to their side simply through the Force. Several people also question if the Warlord's Death Stalkers had been corrupted in this fashion. After their reappearance to the galaxy on Denova, the Masters began to oppose the other factions more openly with their newly corrupted forces, the "Dread Guard" and "Dread Host". Returning to Belsavis, the Masters directed their forces to a remote part of the planet--Section X--in order to seize ancient Rakatan technology and weapons, along with a ship full of elite assassin droids of the HK-51 series. This accounting show the Masters are interested in ancient technology. Later they are seen on the ancient Gree world of Asation, where the Masters' forces, led by a resurrected Kephess, were working to steal Gree hypergate technology and also to unleash an ancient beast known as the Terror from Beyond. The event further showed the Masters' desire for technology, and their ability to manipulate the force into doing whatever they want, including resurrections. Once more, the Masters' forces, led by Dread Master Styrak, appeared on the Hutt world of Darvannis where they corrupted an army of mercenaries, machines, and beasts. The Dread Masters were seen for a final time on the remote moon of Oricon, a moon drenched in their corruptions and housing their Palace and Fortress. The Republic had sent a fleet to bombard the Masters, however, through their power of fear, they destroyed the armada with the force. Republic and Imperial strike teams were then sent to the moon's surface to recover and make one final attempt in defeating the Masters. Republic and Empire heroes worked across the moon, destroying the Masters' corruptions and stopping their plans. Afterwards, a joint Imperial and Republic strike team consisting of the Empire's Fury and the Coruscant Aegis entered the Dread Fortress and Dread Palace, ultimately defeating the Dread Masters and ending them once and for all. Recreating the Fear We were called by the Warlord. one by one we came, abandoning the mantra of "Darth" and "Sith" We became greater. We became the Six Successors. '' ''-Dread Master Erasis Despite the Republic and Empire's combined efforts, much of the Dread Masters' legions and forces survived the initial purge of Dread. Though, at this time, the Warlord reappeared for once, inviting the remnants of the Dread Guards to join her in her quest to preserve the Dread Masters' legacy of fear. Among the Dread Guards that joined were Rampage and Parasitus, who would later play major roles in the preservation of Dread. The guards joined the Warlord on her flagship, along with her forgotten Death Stalkers, and they began searching the galaxy for a stronghold and sanctuary where they could rest and recover. After searching for several weeks, the legion traveled to the tundra world of Ilum, where, far from any civilization of the planet, lies an abandoned outpost: Fray Landing. Long before them, a large conflict broke out on the planet, and the Republic outpost was raided by Imperial attackers. The Republic soldiers were slaughtered and their corpses now litter the outpost's grounds. Despite this, the Warlord saw the location as a place of death and despair, and due to its seclusion, made a perfect sanctuary for the legion. From Fray, the Warlord began to rebuild the Dread Masters' forces. At first, the Warlord began to recruit through a series of manipulative whispers. Across Ilum, Imperial personnel began to hear near silent messages in the back of their minds. These messages urged the Imperials to travel to the Fray for the Warlord's desired purposes. Most Imperials turned down this strange offer, obviously afraid of this unknown voice. Some have even reported, becoming very insecure on Ilum. However the legend of the whispers has attracted many to Ilum and the Fray, where the Warlord and her new legion unknowingly are building up their numbers and strength. It is believed that one man, now known as Erasis Citadel, joined the legion through these whispers. Not too long after the recruiting began, the Warlord prepared for her upcoming conquest, where she and her new Dread Legion would travel throughout the galaxy, increasing their numbers and spreading fear wherever they go. In preparation, the Warlord selected six powerful individuals of the legion and announced them as Dread Masters. Now, with her Masters present, and her army emboldened, the Warlord set out to once again spread dread and darkness to the known galaxy. Dreadful Conquests Soon after their settling on Ilum, the new Dread Masters and their recreated Dread Legion began to travel across the galaxy, recruiting more to their cause and secretly spreading fear. While still far from the original Dread Masters' power, the Warlord and her army were rapidly growing in strength and even posed a minimal threat to other powerful organizations. Their assaults took them to many planets where the Masters' attacked small Imperial and Republic outposts, but often drove the defenders insane rather than kill them. Others began to notice these attacks, leading more people to question and inquire about the still unknown assailants. Though, as their attacks continued, the Warlord noticed that her army was messy and disorganized with their conquests. This led her to set up a system where each Dread Master controlled a certain number of Dread Guards and attacked a specific worlds. Additionally, each of the six Dread Masters--Rampage, Parasitus, Arctis, Shavalia, Terrorem, and Hicalibre--to be named as individual successors of the first Dread Masters. Therefore, the legion had a system of organization, known as the Pyramids of Fear, with each master holding one sphere and a certain number of recruited Dread Guards assigned to them. The Masters themselves were divided up by the Warlord, each of them having different separate tasks. Still, due to their union and unbreakable bond, the Masters often performed the tasks together. Rampage and Parasitus usually traveled between the worlds of Korriban and Dromund Kaas, in an attempt to steal and corrupt new Sith acolytes and apprentices from the Empire. Eventually, a powerful sorcerer known as Kataret sought the Masters out and joined the legion. Dread Master Arctis worked on rallying the legion and training new guards by pinning them against each other and having the strongest come out on top. This tournament was often referred to as the Dreadful Duels. Dread Masters Terrorem and Hicalibre led the attacks on the different worlds, spreading the fear and darkness to various places throughout the galaxy. Meanwhile, the last Dread Master, Shavalia, was mentally and telepathically connected to the Warlord. This allowed the Warlord to stay hidden and out of sight while Shavalia acted as a voice to the other Masters. As the Masters conquests began, more and more worlds became confused and unknowingly terrified. The Masters' corruptions sometimes engulfed entire planets and converted many to Dread guards. The legion was large, and seemingly appeared to be a challenge to control. Since the Warlord often remained in the shadows using Shavalia as the voice, the other Masters grew distant and began to lose their respect for their Warlord. They ignored Shavalia's order, doing as they wished. Without the Warlord's guidance, the Masters' forces began to become disorganized and reckless once again, much to the Warlord's displeasure. Something had to be done before the Dread Masters fully ignored their Warlord and separated for good. The Dreadful Division Declaration of War In response to the Masters' loyal and reckless behavior, the Warlord designed a simple plan to take back control. The Warlord told Shavalia, the last loyal Master, to find and capture another, Dread Master Arctis, and imprison him on Ilum. When it was done, the Warlord disconnected both Arctis and Shavalia from the Dread union. Afterwards, Arctis was mentally connected to the Warlord and once again forced to obey. Without all six, the remaining four masters were burdened mentally and nearly driven insane. But through the force, they realized that Shavalia and Arctis were on Ilum. The Masters traveled to the icy planet, eager to restore they're Dread union before they went insane. As Rampage, Parasitus, Terrorem, and Hicalibre landed on Ilum, they immediately traveled to their Dread Sanctuary, Fray Landing. As they entered the abandoned outpost, they met the Warlord, who demanded that the Masters devote themselves, once again, to the Warlord's authority. They ignored this order and then demanded the location of Arctis and Shavalia. At that request, both Shavalia and Arctis took the Warlord's side, and revealed that they had already devoted themselves. The four Dread Masters enraged, echoing a scream that filled the entire world of Ilum with darkness. The Warlord explained that she would reestablish the union if all six Masters became loyal once more. The four immediately denied the offer, and declared war on the Warlord, Arctis, and Shavalia. The Warlord laughed at the Masters, reasoning that they could not command an army without her guidance. Though, the Masters went into silent, refusing to speak to the three betrayers. They instead simply left Fray Landing, returning to their ship and leaving Ilum. Immediately, the Warlord, Arctis, and Shavalia recalled all the loyal Dread Guards back to the planet Ilum to prepare for war. At the same time, Rampage, Parasitus, Terrorem and Hicalibre called their followers to a remote part of the planet Tatooine. Both sides began to prepare as they were about to enter into the Dread Civil War. The Warlord's battle against the Masters Attack on Tatooine Just as the Masters and the Warlord split, the legion did the same. Some of the Dread Guards joined the Masters as defenders, while others returned to the Warlord as loyal subjects. Though, the majority of the Dread Guards rejoined the Warlord, with the odds being four to one in her favor. Despite this, the Dread Masters did not surrender, instead preparing and strengthening their forces so they are ready. Though, the Warlord gave them no time, immediately launching half her forces to the Masters' location on Tatooine to destroy them. While there appeared to be no hope for the Masters' survival, they did not dare give up. The Warlord's forces, commanded by Shavalia, arrived in three Dreadnoughts. The massive ships quickly positions themselves overhead of the Dread Masters, then immediately began deploying shuttles. As the shuttles landed, the Warlord's soldiers poured out, regrouping to a large army. The Masters' defenders, though largely outnumbered, stood valiantly, ready to fight and die for their masters. The invading army slowly began to approach the defenders, attempting to intimidate them. In one move, the Masters' defenders broke their silents, yelling and screaming as they charged directly into the massive army. Due to the odds, the Dread Masters knew their forces could not stand against the invaders. The Masters stood behind their defenders, beginning to perform a ritual. All four of them began harnessing their combined force energy, then, through a meditative trance, released the energy onto their defenders in a form of Battle Meditation. Shavlia, commander of the Warlord's forces, realized the sudden empowering of the Masters' forces. In response, she gathered an elite team of the Warlord's assassins, then, through stealth, sneaked behind the clashing armies to the Masters. As soon as they were close the assassins uncloaked themselves and charged. The Dread Masters were taken by surprise as Shavalia broke their meditating and impaled Dread Master Rampage. With the meditation broken, the Masters' defenders strength was lost, and they began to be defeated once more by the Warlord's invaders. Enraged, the Masters combined their powers and channeled a large force storm of lightning, killing all the assassins aside from Shavlia. Then, Dread Master Hicalibre seperated himself from the group and approached Shavalia, saying this was his fight. While the others tended to the unconscious Rampage, Hicalibre and Shavlia locked blades, going into an intense duel. However, Shavalia was more skilled with her lightsaber, beating Hicalibre back. But, in one quick moment, Hicalibre attacked Shavalia with a blast of pure dark energy, completely disintegrating her. Meanwhile, the Masters' defenders were nearly defeated, with only a handful remaining. Suddenly, with Shavalia's death, the entire invading army stopped attacking. They just stopped and started screaming, driven insane by the loss of their commander. This allowed the remaining loyalists of the Masters to pick off the rest of the invaders. With the invading army defeated, Dread Masters Hicalibre, Terrorem, and Parasitus proceeded to dealing with the three Dreadnoughts. Through their combined effort, the Masters grabbed the massive ship with the force, then collided it into a second one. A large explosion occurred as the two ships were disabled. As the Masters proceeded to deal with the third ship, it retreated from Tatooine, presumably returning to Ilum. With the Warlord's offensive army defeated the Masters knew it was their turn to strike. Along with their surviving defenders, the Masters boarded their personal shuttle and headed towards Ilum. Clash on Ilum As the Masters landed on the icy tundra world of Ilum they were immediately displeased. The remainder of the Warlord's army had already positioned itself into a defensive formation around the Warlord's sanctuary, Fray Landing. The Masters examined their remaining followers, but realized that only about a dozen had survived the onslaught on Tatooine. Due to this fact, the Masters knew their loyalists could not possibly combat the massive army of the Warlord. Dread Master Rampage, now recovered from his injury on Tatooine, stated that the Masters only option was to attempt to use their powers of fear to break the army. Despite their doubts, the other Masters agreed. Dread Masters Rampage, Hicalibre, Parasitus, and Terrorem departed their shuttle and stood at a snowy hill less than a mile away from Fray. They were overlooking the army as they prepared their ritual. Then suddenly the entire defensive army appeared to notice the Masters, as they all broke into a full rush towards the hill. Despite this, the Masters held their ground, beginning to chant in union in the ancient sith language. Then, in one moment, all four of the Masters directed their hands to point towards the army, with all of them yelling the simple word, Fear. But nothing happened. The army kept advancing towards the masters until they were just a hundred meters away. Then, suddenly, one soldier fell. Then another... and another... All of the army began to fall to their knees and scream due to the intense mental pain they suffered. They all began to have body spasms on the grounds. The Masters were delighted to see their plan had succeeded, and so they continued passed the dying soldiers to the outpost. As the Masters entered Fray, they saw the Warlord, standing alone, emotionless. They spoke in unison, telling the Warlord they were done with her and that she had failed. Suddenly, she began to cackle, saying that her army's loss is not a concern and that she alone had the power to defeat them. In response, each Master drew their respective lightsabers, ready to attack. But the Warlord suddenly vanished, using the power of stealth to elude the Masters' sight. Then, she appeared behind Dread Master Terrorem, and, with one move, thrusted her lightsaber through Terrorem's chest, instantly killing him. Dread Master Rampage enraged, bringing his lightsaber on the Warlord's own. Hicalibre also joined in, as they both pushed the Warlord back. But she quickly summoned her force powers, electrocuting both masters and pushing them back. She then lifted Hicalibre with the Force and slammed him into the ground. Then, Dread Master Parasitus threw a blast of force energy, taking the Warlord by surprise and throwing her off balance. Just as she regained her footing, Parasistus, Rampage, and Hicalibre all approached her, beginning to chant in ancient sith once more. They directied their hands to the Warlord, once again yelling, Fear. The Warlord began to scream from the mental pain. As the Masters began to defeat her, she let out one final laugh, then creating a massive explosion of lightning and disappearing. Rampage takes control Rebuilding the Legion A Sinister Plot Parting Ways The Lost Years The Generations The Dread Masters The first Dread Masters to ever walk the galaxy, these six individuals started their quest by harnessing the ancient phobis devices. On the Sith Emperor's command, the Empire's best sith were to enter the Dark Temple and attempt to harness the phobis devices, for they held unlimited power. While most Sith went insane trying to harness the artifacts, six men and women entered the phobis device core. Together they absorbed the artifacts, becoming united in an everlasting bond and being empowered by the dark side of the force. With their new abilities, the Sith Emperor had the Masters work as generals and weapons for the Empire, becoming incredibly effective against the Republic. Eventually the Dread Masters became too much of a threat to the Republic, leading the Jedi to capture and imprison the Masters on Belsavis. Later, the Masters were freed but turned against the Republic and Empire, becoming an independent faction. The Masters began to spread fear across the galaxy causing both the Republic and Empire to send strike teams to deal with the Masters' followers wherever they appeared. Eventually, the Masters desired the end of the galaxy, much like the Sith Emperor, and attempted to corrupt the most populated worlds with slaughter machines. The Republic and Empire confronted the Masters in their palace on Oricon. After a series of battles and events across the moon, the Masters' plan was ended and they were killed. Only the Dread Master known as Calphayus survived the encounter, but he no longer followed the Dread arts, and was no longer a threat. Members of the Union: '''Styrak, Brontes, Bestia, Tyrans, Calphayus, Raptus The Masters under the Warlord The Warlord, after presumably being introduced to Dread by the original Masters, desired that the legacy of fear should not end and should be preserved. After establishing a Sanctuary on Ilum, the Warlord began to send manipulative whispers throughout the galaxy, urging people to join the new reborn dread legion. Eventually, the Warlord created a new union consisting of six Dread Masters, and, under her order, began to spread fear to the galaxy once more. The Masters shared many battles and events together, becoming bonded for life. However, despite this, the Warlord and Masters grew into a grave conflict, with the Masters fighting not only against themselves, but also their Warlord. Ultimately, the legion was decimated and many masters died in the conflict. The Warlord escaped and disappeared from sight once more. One of the remaining Dread Masters, Rampage, brought together the remnant of the legion and began to rebuild. It is worth mentioning that Darth Arctis, now of the Sith Empire's Dark Council, is the last remaining Dread Master of this union. '''Members of the Union: '''Arctis, Rampage, Parasitus, Hicalibre, Shavalia, Terrorem The Overlord's Masters After the Dread Division, the dread legion was undermanned and in all honesty, weak. However, Rampage inducted several of the survivors and made them Dread Masters, creating a new union to build up the legion. Despite the weakness and obstacle the Masters faced, they tried valiantly to save their union and legion, sticking together through their bond. These Dread Masters even joined the Coalition, an alliance of rising independent powers, to empower themselves. Under Rampage, the Masters once again began to build up their legion. However, while the Masters desperately reconstructed their legion, the Warlord reappeared, enlisting former Dread Master Arctis' help in ending Rampage and his Dread Masters. Together, Arctis and the Warlord created a devious plot which ultimately ended Dread Master Rampage. As he was the leader, the rest of the legion tore itself apart and the last of the Masters pursued seperate goals. '''Members of the Union: '''Rampage, Erasis, Parasitus, Kataret, Asavian, Hicalibre The Lost Masters After the final destruction of their legion, Dread Masters Erasis, Asavian, Kataret, Parasitus, and Hicalibre went their separate ways. Arctis, to make sure the legion could not rebuilt itself, captured and killed both Parasitus and Hicalibre. Dread Master Kataret drove himself insane and was eventually killed by Erasis and Asavian. Due to their lack of members, Erasis wanted to hold onto part of his Dread abilities, and so he invited Arctis back into the union to slightly empower themselves. Arctis agreed to this, however, the three remaining masters went their own paths and worked very little with each other. Erasis presumably dealt with his House Citadel's eternal conflicts, while Asavian continued to travel across the galaxy collecting artifacts and relics. Arctis remained on the Sith Empire's Dark Council, working to embolden the Empire. '''Members of the Union: '''Erasis, Arctis, Asavian, (Only half the union was established, making their powers of fear incredibly ineffective) The Reformed Masters (CURRENT) Eventually, Erasis and Asavian left most of the Dread lives behind, joining the Sith Imperium, where they stand today. However, they soon met Nolus, a member of the Imperium, who desired to be part of their Dread union. To them, this was incentive for Erasis and Asavian to once more attempt to create a lasting Dread union. Also, after much cooperation with the Imperium, both Erasis and Asavian joined the High Council, and Erasis later became the first Praetor of the Imperium. Though, despite their ranks, Erasis, Asavian, and Nolus preferred to keep their Imperium lives and Dread lived separate. This was until Emperor Salvatus enlisted the Dread Masters help, asking them to lend their strengths to the Imperium. The Dread Masters knew the best way to merge their powers with the Imperium was to have a devoted member of the Imperium within their union. This led them to resurrect the Crowned Princess Vindictiva from the dead, and inducted her into the union. The Dread Masters still do not fully operate with the Imperium, as the Union requires two more. But the day will come, soon, when the Dread Masters fully work with the Sith Imperium. '''Members of the Union: Erasis, Asavian, Nolus, Vindictiva, (A few masters were not present, making the Masters inefficient again) The Masters of the Imperium ((TBA)) 'Members of the Union: '((TBA)) Notable Members Rampage Erasis Kataret Asavian Arctis The Warlord